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The first month of 2014 is already done! Whew… time does fly. January 1at marked the official beginning on my Annual Training Plan (ATP), although I really began base training in December. As I mentioned in a few of my posts, I decided to coach myself this year. I decided this for two main reasons: 1) I want to save some money, and 2) I wanted to try new training methods on myself before I “prescribe” them for my athletes. One of the biggest rules of personal training… never have a client do an exercise that you have not tried yourself.

So far things are going well. I had a decent start, but have missed some workouts due to weather and making changes to my schedule because of my teaching schedule. Let’s recap each sport:

SWIM

I only swam once in January. Not a good start in this department! I get a corporate discount to my local YMCA through work and thus decided to wait to begin swimming until my membership at the Y began. My application got held up a bit in the office and thus my membership began two weeks later than I had hoped for. Yes, I could have swum at other pools but I didn’t want to pay the $3-$5 pool fee each time I went. My first swim went well though! I swam once in November since IMLP and that swim was a complete disaster. I really thought I was going to drown; it was that bad. However, I was completely fine and was hitting about 5 seconds slower than my normal 100 yard pace.

BIKE

I spent A LOT of time on my bike and also a spin bike. I taught four spin classes in January and will be teaching at least 7 in February. I include these workouts in my training plan because I am participating in class on a bike. However, I do prioritize my own bike workouts outside of spin class. I generally aim for 3 rides a week, but sometimes only get 2 in depending on Junior League meeting schedules. My main triathlon goal this year is to rebuild my power on the bike and I believe that I am on the right path to do so. I was supposed to complete my first Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test this past Wednesday, but I wasn’t feeling well and thus have decided to postpone it until next week. I have been training on the bike based on HR and feel for the past two months while I regained some cardiovascular fitness and now I plan to transition to power-based training.

RUN

This winter has plain sucked for running! I’ve discussed this numerous times with my Chiropractor as she is training for the Boston Marathon in April. Since I am recovering from yet another hip issue, I decided to be smart about my run training. If the roads are icy and it’s super cold out, then I hit my bike trainer instead. I have gotten in a few quality short runs. I haven’t been cleared for running more than 5 miles at a time, so I’ve been focusing on taking it easy and just running in my endurance zone. My pace is extremely slow! Like 11-12 minute miles! Back in my peak running shape in 2012, I was running in my endurance zone at a 8:45-9:20/mile pace. Urgh! Patience my dear!

STRENGTH TRAINING

I’ve been strength training like a boss! This is the area that I have really excelled in lately, which is good for me because I miss strength training and my hip needs the strength gains. Since I began teaching at Zone 3 Fitness, I have access to all their classes, which are awesome! If you live in the Greater Portland (Maine) region then I highly recommend you check them out. There is a free Seven Day pass on their website HERE!

The Base Training phase is a perfect time to focus on one’s weaknesses within the sport of triathlon.

Goals for February:

Swim 2-3x a week – My goal is to swim at least once or twice a week during my lunch break if my schedule allows and once or twice a week in the evenings or the weekend. If I can swim a 4th day that would be awesome. My focus is mainly to get comfortable again in the water.

Run at least 3x a week and build up my mileage – My main goal here is to do it injury free and thus I need to be careful with building my miles up slowly. My body has already built some leg strength again running, so I know it will come with time. I want to build a solid base here and thus must embrace the idea of slow and steady!

Continue with strength training – My body adapts quickly and well to strength training. I find that my body loses weight more quickly when I strength train on a regular schedule and therefore I will include it in my schedule at least twice a week with added specific hip and core focused work as well.

Train with power on the bike – After my FTP test I will train using my power zones on the bike to increase my FTP and my bike fitness.

I’ve been working behind the scenes to dot my “I’s” and cross my “T’s” to get everything in order to make this little dream of mine into reality.

First, I would like to give a big shout-out to my very talented cousin, Chris, at Blue Planet Graphics for designing my awesome logo for me! If you’re in the market for a logo, graphic design, or car wrapping then check out his business at Blue Planet Graphics.

I currently teach a Spin & Core class Tuesday nights at 5:45 at Zone 3 Fitness

Small group training and/or boot-camp classes

Writing

Freelance writing in fitness, health, and/or science

As always, I will continue to write weekly in my blog on topics ranging from my own personal training stories to exercise physiology and fitness to travel and everything in between. If you ever have any blog post suggestions please feel free to contact me using the “Contact Me” tab in the above Main Menu.

So please check out what I offer and share with your friends, families and co-workers! Fitness and endurance sports are my passion and I love helping others achieve their goals. So let me help you reach your goals in 2014! 🙂

A few weeks ago I wrote about my “unhappy pelvis,” which of course you can read about HERE.

I’ve been seeing my chiropractor on a weekly basis for the past two months. We’ve become quite the BFFs. Okay, maybe we were before since she is the one that keeps my body from completely falling apart…

Last week we had a breakthrough! ALLEHUJAH! My pelvis has settled down a bit and has finally managed to stabilize itself. Now that my pelvis has stability and isn’t playing the hokey pokey (and moving all-about), we can begin to focus on regaining mobility. ALWAYS train stability before mobility… that’s my take-away message today. You can thank me later.

Casey has determined that my right hip lacks internal rotation due to the fasica tissue surrounding my gluteus medius, semitendinosus, semimembranosus and adductor magnus. Being the total anatomy geek that I am, I started doing some research on the topic. There isn’t a ton of research out there on the topic because hip and groin injuries in athletes are less common than injuries in the extremities. However, when they do occur, they can result in extensive rehabilitation time (Anderson et al., 2001).

Fun fact – loads of up to eight times body weight have been demonstrated in the hip joint during jogging, with potentially even higher loads in more vigorous athletic competition. So, if you are a 200 pound man then you could have up to 1600 lbs of force working against your hip joints. Yikes! But, the hips are uniquely adapted to transfer such forces (Anderson et al., 2001). The body’s center of gravity is located within the pelvis, anterior (front) to the second sacral vertebra. The hips are essentially a series of arches, which according to Wikipedia (obviously a completely reliable source 😉 ) resolve forces into compressive stresses and, in turn, eliminate tensile stresses.

The major ligaments of the pelvis and hip are known to be some of the strongest in the human body and are well adapted to the forces transferred between the spine and the lower extremities. The iliac crest has multiple muscle origins and insertions, including the internal and external oblique, latissimus dorsi, paraspinal muscles, and fascia from the gluteus medius muscle. The gluteus medius (GM) is an important muscle during movement.

Source

A significant amount of GM muscle activity has been reported during the midstance and terminal stance of gait to provide pelvic stabilization during a single normal gait. The GM is generally referred to as a primary hip abductor (leg moves away from the center of the body); but, research has indicated that it most likely plays a more effective role as a pelvic stabilizer (Schmitz et al., 2002). The anterior fibers of the GM also play a role in hip internal rotation while the posterior (back) fibers play a role in external rotation. Lack of internal rotation of the hip has been linked to lower back pain (Vad et al., 2003) in several studies in athletes.

So, what does this mean for my hip? Well, it means that my chiropractor can beat the hell out of my hip musculature. Last week she broke out her graston tools and left me with major bruises on my hamstrings, piriformis, and GM. Though, I wanted to cry while she stuck her metal tools in my GM, it made a world of difference in my hips! All week I felt that I had a whole new hip.

We have now isolated the problem in my hips through the process of elimination. My GM is so much better now and most of the “bad” fascia tissue has broken up leaving me with more mobility in that muscle. Cue the theme song to “Happy Days.”

My chiropractor has identified that the lack of internal rotation in my right hip is due to the semitendinosus and semimembranosus (medial hamstring muscles) and my adductor magnus muscles. The adductor magnus muscle is actually an external hip rotator muscle, but it was playing a major role in pulling my pelvic symphysis apart a few weeks ago. The issue is isolated at the muscle origins, where each muscle attaches to the ischial tuberosity (sit bones). It is not actually my muscles causing the problem, but the fascia tissue surrounding each muscle that is restricting the muscle from flexing and moving correctly. Thus, stretching and yoga are not effect methods to “fix” the problem. Stretching and yoga certainly help, but myofascial release is the best method.

The Guilty Parties… (source)

My hip issues have been prevalent for the past couple of years and I feel like I am making process in finally determining the root cause of the issue and resolving it. I know that training and completing an Ironman on an injury was not the smartest move. My goal this year is to be smart about training and listening to my body. It’s hard for me to step back and take a break from training, but I know in the long run that it is a worthwhile investment to my health and my performance. I mean, it’s not like you would put a second floor on your house if you had significant cracks in your foundation making it impossible for the foundation to support a two-story home, right?

In order to fully understand muscle imbalances, let’s first look at normal muscle function. There are three types of muscles in the body: smooth, cardiac, and skeletal. We, of course, are investigating skeletal muscles – or the muscles that move our bodies through the swim, bike, run movement patterns. Normal muscle activation is a combination of contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers. The technical terms are called facilitation (contraction) and inhibition (relaxation). When muscles contract, they get tighter and do more work. When muscles relax, they do less work and allow their opposite muscles to contract better. Muscles in the body generally work in pairs.

Let’s use the examples of your biceps and triceps. Let’s imagine that you are sitting on a bench with a dumbbell in your right hand about to do a set of biceps curls. What happens when you move your right hand towards your shoulder? Place your left hand over your right bicep. In the rest position your biceps is pretty relaxed. The same with your triceps. Neither should feel tight or loose. Just relaxed. Now move that dumbbell up towards your shoulder and do a biceps curl. Now feel that biceps in the top hand position. Feels pretty tight now doesn’t it? The biceps muscle is contracting to pull the dumbbell towards your shoulder. Now feel the triceps. The triceps muscle should feel loose because it must relax in order for the biceps to contract. Now lower the dumbbell to the start position. The biceps muscle should be relaxed (loose) and the triceps contracted (tight). The same thing happens as you are running. As you lift your leg to propel yourself forward, your quadriceps (front of tight muscles) must contract to lift your knee forward and the hamstrings (back of thigh muscles) must relax. When the muscles are balanced in the body, they have the right combination of inhibition and facilitation during movement.

Wikimedia Commons

If muscles lack the right combination of inhibition and facilitation during movement muscle imbalances can occur. Muscle imbalances may lead to injuries, biomechanical inefficiencies, and wasted efforts. Muscle imbalances can also occur due to poor static posture, joint dysfunction, and myofascial adhesions (think “knot” in muscle). These altered length-tension relationships between muscles may lead to altered muscle recruitment patterns (altered force-couple relationships). This is caused by altered reciprocal inhibition. Altered reciprocal inhibition, defined by NASM, is the process by which a tight muscle (short, overactive, myofascial adhesions) causes decreased neural drive, and therefore optimal recruitment of its functional antagonist.

Let’s look at an example of this. A majority of people work 9-5 desk jobs in front of a computer. Thus they tend to have tight hip flexors, or iliopsoas muscles. Tight psoas muscles decrease the neural drive and therefore the optimal recruitment of gluteus maximus (your butt muscles). The gluteus maximus muscles are the prime movers for hip extension and an important muscle in running. According to a 2006 study in The Journal of Experimental Biology, the gluteus maximus works primarily to keep the torso upright during movement and it is involved in decelerating the swing leg as it hits the pavement. Since the glute is a hip extender muscle, it also functions to extend your hip-joint as your foot pushes off the ground to propel your body forward. Weaknesses in the gluteus maximus can lead to compensation and substitution by the synergists (hamstrings) and stabilizers (erector spinae). This can ultimately lead to potential hamstring strains and lower back pain.

According to one study, over the course of any given year approximately two-thirds of runners will have at least had one injury that has caused an interruption to their training. For those training for marathons, the rate as been recorded up to 90% of runners. The most common running injury involves the knee. The most common running related knee problems are patellofemoral pain syndrome, Iliotibial band (IT-Band) sydrome, tibal stress syndrome (spin splits), and plantar fasciitis. Guess what? These common running injuries are overuse injuries generally caused by muscle imbalances!

Some researchers and sports medicine professionals have argued that triathlon, as a multisport event, causes less overuse injuries than single sports, because of the more even distribution of loads over the body’s muscluar system. However, triathletes still suffer from a high degree of overuse injuries. One of the most common is actually lower back pain. Triathletes tend to be over-developed in larger muscle groups, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and shoulders. Triathletes tend to be weak in the smaller stability muscles, such as the lower back, core, adductors, and abductors. Again, these muscle imbalances are caused by movements that we do in each sport. For example, many triathletes, especially if they come from a cycling background, will be overdeveloped in the quadriceps region, but have these tiny, underactive hamstrings. This is a muscle imbalance caused by cycling. Runners are very weak in the hip stability muscles, such as the gluteus medius, tensor fascia latae (TFL), and adductor complex, which leads to weak lumbo-pelvic stability and the potential development of common running injuries. The sport of triathlon is conducted in one plane of motion – the sagittal plane. We rarely move in the frontal and transverse planes. Many of the hip stability muscles are targeted by movements conducted in the frontal and/or transverse planes.

Wikimedia Commons

Muscles can be divided into two types: postural and phasic. Postural muscles are used for standing and walking; whereas, phasic muscles are used for running. During the gait cycling of running, there is a double-float phase during which both legs are suspended in the air – one at the beginning and one at the end of the swing phase. Running biomechanics requires efficient firing patterns from the postural muscles while the phasic muscles do the actual work of propelling the body forward. Since the postural muscles are constantly be activated in the body to fight the forces of gravity, these muscles have a tendency to shorten and become tight. The postural muscles that tend to become chronically tight in runners are: gastroc-soleus, rectus femoris, ilipsoas, tensor fascia lata, hamstrings, adductors, quadratus lumborum, piriformis, and satorius. Phasic muscles typically may remain in an elongated or weak state. Common phasic muscle that have a tendency to be weak or become inhibited in runners are: the tibialis anterior, vastus medialis, long thigh adductors, and the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus.

So, key points from this post:

Muscle imbalances are caused by the lack of the right combination of contraction and relaxation of paired muscles

Common triathlon and running injuries are generally caused by muscle imbalances, mainly in the lumbo-pelvic region

Postural muscles tend to become short and tight; whereas phasic muscles tend to become weak and inhibited

Stretch your psoas muscles! 🙂

Now, how do you identify muscle imbalances? Well, I did a post a while ago on why functional movement screens are important. Go read that! Or go see a sports medicine professional, such as a chiropractor or physical therapist. This is especially important if you are dealing with a common running-related injury. Then find yourself a good personal trainer to help set you up on a good strengthening routine to correct those imbalances. Remember, I am certified to help you correct muscle imbalances. Of course, you should always seek permission from your doctor before starting any new exercise routines. Stay tuned next week on some good hip stretching and strengthening exercises to help you prevent those pesky running injuries.

~ Happy Training!

PS – Feel free to contact me with any questions at katelyn@bigskymultisportcoaching.com

Ok, so this post is a little late. Like 6 weeks late. But, on the good news… I’m officially a certified USAT Level I Triathlon Coach! Yay!

It’s Official!

Back in April Jen and I took a road trip down to Short Hills, New Jersey for the two-day clinic. I’ll be completely honest, I was dreading the New Jersey location. I was thinking it was going to be in a super sketchy part of NJ and all the people living there were going to be right out of Jersey Shore. My worst nightmare! I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Short Hills is an absolutely gorgeous part of NJ! The streets were lined with sidewalks and trees. The houses were cute and nice. And holy heck the town was hilly! I always thought that NJ was pretty flat, but I guess not. Hence the town name of Short Hills. However, those hills were anything but short!

Day one of the clinic included lectures by all three of our presenters: Jesse Kropelnicki of QT2 Systems, John Petrush of Bay Shore Swim, and Shelly O’Brien of Icon One Multisport. The morning started off with two lectures on exercise physiology and nutrition by Jesse. I was super pumped when I first saw that Jesse was going to be a presenter at our clinic. He is one of the top coaches in the country and is someone who I highly look up too. I must admit that I was a wee bit disappointed with his lectures. Not because they were boring or bad, but because both topics were review for me.

Jesse Kropelnicki

After lunch Joe came in and discussed strength training and cycling skills and training with us. Joe is from Long Island and was your stereotypical Long Islander. He was very interesting to listen to. He was funny, but also very opinionated. His lectures were good. However, I disagreed with him on his view of strength training. He told us up front that we were completely welcomed to disagree with him on the topic since strength training for triathletes is still a rather controversial topic. His view was that “if it ain’t broke than don’t fix it.” He generally prefers not doing traditional strength training with his athletes unless they are injured. His approach with strength training is to do it within the swim, bike, run realm. For example, run or bike hill repeats to build leg strength. I can see where he is coming from. I agree that some strength building within each discipline is important, such as running hill repeats. However, I believe that traditional strength training should be part of an triathlete (or any endurance athlete)’s training plan. I don’t mean they need to do traditional body building style training. That would actually not be a favorable way to train. Can you see Arnold doing an Ironman? That poor carbon fiber bike doesn’t have a chance…

Joe Petrush

I much prefer functional training with bodyweight and TRX. Anyway, now that I have left on my tangent I will get back on track! The last lecture of the day was on swim skills and training by Shelly. Shelly is an amazing person to listen to and just a wealth of information. She was by far my favorite person to listen to (which is a good thing because she did all the lectures on the second day). Shelly made each lecture more interactive, which was awesome because sitting in a chair for 10+ hours a day is not my thing. I couldn’t sit for much of the time and kept shifting about in my chair. Secretly, I think all that sitting played a role in my IT-band/Knee/Hip issues.

After the first day Jen and I headed back to our hotel. I headed out for a quick 50 minute run. It was a bit drizzly out, but quite humid. The main roads in the area were busy and we found out quickly that New Jersey drivers were crazy so I headed out to run around the neighborhoods. The neighborhoods were cute and situated on some massively steep hills. Holy cow was my pace slow, but it was fun to run, essentially, hill repeats. After my run we hit up the Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time! Yum yum yum! I had the salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus. And of course, Jen and I split some Cheesecake, cause ya know it was my first time and all…

Shelly O’Brien

The second day was another very long day of sitting. On the second day we discussed running, sports psychology and mental training, and how to build training plans. Unfortunately, most of the time Shelly ran out of time during each lecture because she just had so much to tell us. She gave us a bunch of awesome drill ideas for running and swimming. Some of which I have been trying on my own since then and also have incorporated some of them into my own clients training plans.

Everyone at the clinic came from various backgrounds and reasons why they were attending. Some were already experienced coaches and some are complete newbies. We had a few sports doctors and physical therapists too. It was fun to talk to different people and hear their thoughts on the sport and training. USAT recently changed their criteria to get into the clinic. It used to be the first 40 people to register would get into the clinic. Now you have to apply. Over 70 people applied for our clinic and they accepted 40 of us. I’m glad I made the cut!

Here are some interesting tidbits I learned while at the clinic from the various presenters:

There is generally a 4-16 beat difference in heart rate between running and biking (average is about 10 beats)

It usually takes about 20-30 minutes for the heart rate to settle down after the swim

Heart rate is important for training and power meters are important for racing

Train movements not muscles (aka functional training!)

When working with youth athletes (under age 10) work anaerobic first then aerobic capacity

Develop speed and endurance together

Develop various skill sets in each sport (i.e. drills)

There is no such thing as a good bike and a bad run in triathlon, especially long course!

My favorite is the last bullet point. It is the one that I have been learning over the past year with my coach. If you go out too fast and hard on the bike and burn all your matches then your legs and body are toast for the run. Words of wisdom right there kids!

Crossing the GW Bridge in NYC

~ Happy Training!

PS – If you’re looking for a triathlon coach then I hope you will consider me! 🙂

I spent the last 8 days swimming, biking, and doing core work. No running. Why? Stupid and annoying knee pain. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had developed knee pain in my right knee making running a very unpleasant chore. I managed to compete in my first tri of the season and actually place well, but not without facing the consequences afterwards. Perhaps I should have DNF? Nah….

After the PolarBear I had a 60 minute endurance run in my training plan for that Wednesday. I was feeling pretty good and really wanted a good run. I haven’t had a good run in a while. The weather was beautiful out and I was pumped. I laced up my shoes, turned on the Garmin and did my dynamic warm-up while my watch was searching for the satellites. I swear my watch takes forever to find the satellites. Then it was off. My house is situated on a hill. Either way I have to ride or run down before I hit any flat-ish pavement. I took the hill easy because I knew it would irritate my quad. The hill went okay. About two minutes into the run the sharp nagging pain returned on the bottom outside of my knee rendering me to my little hobble/jump run gait. It’s quite the sight to see I’m sure.

I stopped, stretched (maybe prayed a little) and then began again. I managed to jog very slowly for 10 minutes but still had that nagging pain. After about a mile I knew I needed to stop. The pain intensified leaving me in tears. I turned around and hobbled/walked myself back home crying. Yes, I fully admit that I cried. After my 18 minute mile home I sat myself down in the chair with an ice pack and my laptop. I succeeded to email my coach (while crying of course) letting her know that I could not run and I had no clue how the heck I was suppose to do an Ironman in 10 weeks! Perhaps I was being a bit dramatic, but I was very frustrated.

Not being able to run while training for an Ironman is not good. Normally I would be the idiot and try to run through all the pain. However, the past couple of years I really have learned the value of rest and listening to my body. My body was telling me to stop running and figure out what the root cause of my knee pain was. Mary quickly replied to me to tell me that I would take a full week off from running and let my knee heal. We would see how it feels the following week and slowly build my miles back up. I still have plenty of time till Lake Placid.

I saw my chiropractor again on Monday and we both agree that my knee pain is being primarily caused by my IT-band. My quad muscles are also suspect in the situation too. Along with that pesky little piriformis muscle that I strongly dislike. We’ve been taping my knee and IT-band with kinesiology tape for the past three weeks. It seems to be helping. I’ve been very religious about icing and rolling out with my foam roller, stick, and lacrosse ball. That has seemed to help a great deal too.

Sweet Taping Job

I think the most important aspect of healing my IT-band is rest. I’ve done some research online and most sports medicine professionals recommend anywhere from 3-10 days of rest from the problematic activity (i.e. running in my case). I’m lucky that swimming and cycling doesn’t bother my knee and/or quad and IT-Band. Tonight is going to be my first night running again. Just an easy 30 minute run. If the knee bothers me then I will stop and continue to rest again. When dealing with injuries you have to be smart. I’m going to be smart this time. Let it heal and then strengthen it. I’ve been discussing with my boss at the gym the ideal strength/rehabbing plan for my IT-band to ensure going forward I don’t have chronic issues with it. Hopefully I’m on the road to recovery!

Personally I believe that the plank is the best core exercise because it engages more than just the abdominal muscles. Often times people think they have to do a million crunches/sit-ups to get those mythical 6-pack abs that we all dream about. Sadly, the development of our 6-packs is based mostly on our diets. You might have those killer 6-pack abs, but they are probably buried under a layer of fat.

The plank is an isometric exercise meaning that the muscle length does not change through contraction and/or is in a static hold. The plank is a great exercise because it focuses on muscle endurance of the abdominal muscles while using solely your bodyweight. You can do a plank anywhere! The planks targets the following muscles:

Rectus abdominis

Transverse abdominis

Pelvic floor

Erector Spinae

Multifidus

Quadartus Lumborum

Gluteus minimus/medius

Gluteus maximus

How to perform a plank:

1. Lie face down on an exercise mat or floor with your elbows at your sides facing towards the floor (you always want to keep a neutral neck/spine position).

2. Lift your body up by engaging your core and gluteals, supporting your weight on your forearms and toes. Think about SUCKING IN THE BELLY BUTTON to engage your core and keep the hips up and inline with your back. Think dinner table flat back!

3. Concentrate on maintaining a straight line through the hips and core. Don’t forget to breathe!

4. Hold to position for about 30 seconds or until failure to start. Over time you can build up to holding the position for more time and/or go through plank progressions.

The Plank

Plank on knees – Start here if you are having a hard time holding a plank on your toes

Plank Progression #3: Yoga Plank – Make sure you keep arms right under shoulder where you are the most structually strong

Plank Progression #4: Single-leg Plank – Lift one leg up while maintaining the plank position

Plank Progression #5 – Single arm plank – Lift one arm up straight and reach out in front of you (keep your butt down lower and a straighter arm!)

Plank Progression #8: Side Plank with Leg Raise – If a normal side plank is too easy then try lifting the top leg!

Of course, there are about a hundred more variations of the plank that you can do. Some of my favorite include the TRX plank progressions and using the cable machine and performing a row with the arms while in either a forward plank or side plank.

This post is the third of a multipart series on the Core. If you missed Part one and Part two then make sure you check them out HERE and HERE.

Have you ever worked with a personal trainer before? How about being treated by a physical therapist or chiropractor for an injury? Chances are (if you worked with a good and credentialed professional) that you underwent a functional movement screening.

What is a functional movement screen? Why should you undergo a functional movement screen by a trained professional? Let’s take a look at all the reasons why.

As athletes and fitness-enthusiasts we are constantly working harder to become stronger and healthier in our respective sports and life. We often spend countless hours working to improve in our activities by increasing our flexibility, strength, endurance, and power. However, a majority of athletes and individuals are performing high-level activities with inefficiencies in their fundamental movement patterns without even knowing it. In today’s ever-evolving training and conditioning market, athletes and individuals begin to specialized in a particular sport and/or activity early in life, which as a result, often creates muscle imbalances and weaknesses in the kinetic chain. A majority of athletes and individuals, including myself, will continue to train through injuries, which again can lead to muscle imbalances and poor movement patterns. When an athlete or individual becomes fatigued during activity they tend to lose form and their body will default to what it knows as its “normal” movement pattern, which often has weaknesses and imbalances and can lead to potential injury. Have you ever seen a marathon runner at mile 22? Chances are his running form has greatly deteriorated over the course since mile 1.

So what is a functional movement screen? A functional movement screen is an assessment of movement patterns that attempt to pinpoint weak links in the kinetic chain. Through corrective exercises you can alleviate and “fix” bad movement patterns and muscle imbalances.

Identify individuals at risk, who are attempting to maintain or increase activity level

Assist in program design by systematically using corrective exercise to normalize of improve fundamental movement patterns

Provide a systematic tool to monitor progress and movement pattern development in the presence of changing fitness levels

Create a functional movement baseline which will allow rating and ranking movement for statistical observation

There are multiple ways to conduct a functional movement screen. For athletes I prefer using Gray Cook’s Functional Movement Screen because it provides a system of ratings and rankings of specific functional movement patterns that can be tracked over a period of time. For my general population clients I use the functional movement screen developed by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). When looking for someone to conduct a functional movement screen or if you are looking to hire a personal trainer then I highly suggest working with someone who is either certified through Gray Cook’s system (Functional Movement Systems) and/or NASM’s Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES).

I highly suggest working with a trained professional because they are trained to see muscle imbalances and deficiencies in movement patterns and can develop a corrective exercise plan to “fix” any problems to make you a stronger and healthier athlete. However, you can give yourself a quick and dirty functional movement screen. I suggest grabbing a friend and/or mirror to do this.

The best way to evaluate your movement pattern is through the overhand squat assessment. The squat movement pattern is part of many functional movements. The squat, especially an overhead squat, requires coordinated extremity mobility and core stability with both the hips and shoulders functioning in symmetrical positions. Through a squat, one can find any mobility and stability issues in the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulder regions.

How to Conduct Your Own Functional Movement Screen:

1. Stand in front of a large mirror, preferably with a friend and/or coach to view your movement patterns. Or have someone videotape or take pictures of your movement. It’s best if you do this barefoot too!

2. Place hands above your head in an overhead position. You can hold something such as a PVC pipe or broom. Nothing heavy.

3. Begin squat movement pattern. Do at least 10-12 reps. Continue to do more at different angles as needed (i.e. front, back, and side).

Overhead squat assessment front view.

Side view – If you have a trained eye then you can see that I have an anterior pelvic tilt (more on that later)!

Excessive Forward Lean

Excessive Forward Lean

From the lateral (side view) you can see many major issues in the hip, lower back, and shoulder/upper back region. One of the most common movement compensations is excessive foward lean. The above picture shows an example of an excessive forward lean and also arms falling forward. Most people who lean excessively forward in the overhead squat assessment have tight calf muscles (Soleus and Gastrocnemius), Hip flexor Complex (Psoas muscles), Piriformis, and Abdominal Complex muscles. Muscles that are very weak, and often inactive in a majority of the population, are the Gluteus Maximus and Hamstrings. Muscles that are commonly tight for people whose arms fall forward are the Latissimus Dorsi, the Pecs, and Teres Major. Underactive and weak muscles are generally the mid/lower Trapezius, Rotator Cuff muscles, the Rhomboids, and Posterior Deltoid.

Knees Move Outwards

Knees Outward

One of the most common movement compensations that occur in the overhead squat assessment include compensations in the knees and feet. In the above picture two compensations are occurring: the knees are moving out and the feet are also turning out excessively. When the knees move outwards during the lower portion of the squat movement, the probable tight muscles are the Piriformis, Biceps Femoris (one of the Hamstring muscles), and the Tensor Fascia Latae/Gluteus Minimus. The probably weak and inactive muscles are the Adductors and Gluteus Maximus. A majority of people have a slight toed out position, but if the feet turn out too much then muscle imbalances most likely exist. The major contributor to the feet turned out position are the lateral (outer) calf muscles and the Biceps Femoris. Probable weak muscles are the medial (inner) calf muscles and hamstrings along with the Gluteus muscles.

Knees Move Inwards

Knees moving inwards is also known as knee valgus clinically. Knee valgus is fairly common, especially in young women in their growth and development stages. The reason for knee valgus is not fully understood. The most common theory is that weak gluteal activity allows for a greater degree of hip internal rotation and tibial rotation. One recent study has proposed that increased ankle stiffness leads to restricted dorsiflexion range of motion. They suggest that this leads to foot pronation and internal tibial rotation that ultimately leads to knee valgus. Either way, it’s not a good thing since knee valgus can increased chances of an ACL injury. Probable overactive muscles in someone displaying knee valgus are the adductor complex, Biceps Femoris, Tensor Fascia Latea (TFL) and lateral Gastrocnemius. Probable underactive muscles are the medial hamstrings and Gastrocnemius, the Gluteus Medius and Maximus, and the Anterior and Posterior Tibialis.

So now that you know what key dysfunctional movement patterns to look for (of course there are way more that are possible), you need to know how to “fix” them! We’ll discuss that in future blog posts so stay tuned!

~ Happy Training!

Thursday night’s are generally my strength training nights at the gym. I have a long-standing workout date with my fellow trainer and who ever else may decide to brave my shenanigans. Last night’s workout was a quickie, but rather deadly. If you’re looking for something quick and effective than here you go!

To complete a T-push-up, go down into a push-up and as you come up then rotate left arm up to form a “T” and then return to center to complete another push-up and then come up and rotate your right arm up to form a “T.” See below video.

~ Happy Training!

Today marks the beginning of the 4th week of January and luckily January has 5 weeks this year. Okay, maybe I’m just excited that January is a 3 paycheck month at work. 🙂 So far January has had some ups and downs. Trying to balance Ironman base training plus 3-jobs and attempting to have a social life has been a bit tricky. But I’m managing, or at least trying to figure it all out by trial and error.

Let’s discuss the downs first:

Down#1: Sickness. Yup, most of you know (unless you live in a bubble and if you do may I please move in too?) that it is cold and flu season. And this year the flu has been the worst in a while. This does have a bit of an upswing for me in a way because the biotech company I work for produces a quality control for a flu assay that most hospitals have been using and it has been flying off the shelf this year! Yay for sick people! But, boo for me for catching a cold this past week. I’ve been a bit stressed this past week due to the weather changes (hot, cold, make up your damn mind Mother Nature!) and the fact we were just informed at work that we would be having a surprise FDA audit at work tomorrow! Thursday I had a half-way decent run on the treadmill followed by a quality strength training workout with a couple of the boys at the gym. That night I woke up sweating and then I would get the chills and then I felt nausea. I had a feeling that it may be the flu. SHIT! But, it just turned out to be a nasty little cold. Of course, Friday I had to work a 15-hour day too. Go figure. I ended up taking rest days both Friday and Saturday to kick the cold. I managed to survive and have a solid bike workout Sunday night. I still have a bit of the sniffles, but I’m starting to feel better already. (Knock on wood)

This how I felt Friday minus the whole birthday thing…

Down#2: I’m pretty sure that I have over-powered my trainer. Obviously I’m a total badass because of this! Ha! Either that or my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) dropped like 40-50 watts. Last year I did a power test on a computrainer (if you ever have a chance to ride one… take it! It’s such a glorious experience!) so I know where my FTP should be. I know it probably has gone down some due to my mini 3 month vacation from my bicycle this fall, but I know my fitness isn’t THAT bad… Earlier last week I was supposed to do intervals in my lowest gear, which would put me in my zone 4 power range. However, I maxed out in my upper zone 3 range in my lowest gear with the highest cadence I could maintain for the 2.5 minutes. Now, if I was on the road then I know I could have hit my zones. That’s why I’m thinking I need a new trainer. It doesn’t really surprise me because my trainer isn’t the best out there and it only cost me $50 on Craigslist three years ago so I’m thinking I got my moneys worth. I just don’t really want to go out and drop $400 for a new one. I was kind of hoping to save some money and eventually afford a computrainer. Who am I kidding, I have student loans to be pay off…

Down#3: Working a billion hours a week! I’ve always been pretty darn good at time management, but this month has definitely put my mad skills to the test and I must say, I think I give myself a C+ for effort. I’ve missed a few of my workouts and I’m not happy about it. I know my big hours don’t start till later in the spring, but I know I can manage the 8-9 hours a week of base training at the moment! The biggest problem I have is finding pool time that fits within my schedule. Of course, pool time is rather limited at the moment due to high school swim season, but I’m going to make it work! Tomorrow night I have clients till 7pm and then a large gap till the next one at 8:30 pm so I’m going to bring in my bike and trainer and face the wall for an hour to get my workout in! The past couple of weeks I have been really good about preparing food on Sunday afternoons for the week. That has certainly helped with time management and also I have lost about 1-1.5 pounds so my journey to race weight begins!

Down#4:Operation 6-pack has completely dropped off the planet the past couple of months, but have no fear she is back with a vengeance! Now that swim, bike, run has once again returned to the forefront of my life, strength training and yoga has taken a bit of the backseat, but I’m going to make them a priority again. Saturday mornings I’m going to teach a core fitness class at the gym, targeting core strength, mobility and flexibility and then at least 2-3 strength workouts a week varying from a quickie (15-minutes max) to 45-minutes with the boys.

Now for the ups:

Up#1: I got into the USAT Level 1 coaching course in NJ in April!! Yay! I’ve been trying to get into one of the triathlon coaching courses to become a certified coach, but I must say they are tough to get into. I tried last fall to get into the Providence course, but I was not quick enough and it sold out as I was typing in my credit card information. The USAT has since changed its application process so now it is an actual application you must submit to get into a course now making it more fair.

Coming April 2013!!

Up#2: I made my own bike thong! Instead of paying $25+ for a piece of cloth to cover up my bike to protect it from my buckets of sweat produced while on the trainer, I decided to rummaged through my mom’s old sewing room for supplies and make my own. It’s not the prettiest thing and doesn’t have the fancy remote holder, but it gets the job done and it’s FREE!

My masterpiece!

Up#3: I was feeling better yesterday so I took my dog with me to the gym while I worked with a client and then hit up Scarborough beach for a run. I didn’t run, but Reagan sure as hell did. Thank God she didn’t try to go swimming! She did enjoy chasing a few seagulls and get some energy out. Hopefully in the spring I can do some more beach running and actually take her running with me because she loves it.

Happy puppy!

Up#4: For the past couple of weeks I have been doing one of my strength workouts with another trainer at the gym and one of the other guys. I’ve been using them both as guinea pigs to try out some new exercises. Both of them are pretty fit, one more than the other, and my main goal is to make them puke. My fellow trainer doesn’t think I can, but he hasn’t since nothing yet. 🙂 Just wait till the snow melts and we can work out outside. (Insert evil laugh) I’ve been doing a circuit style workout involving my TRX and other mainly bodyweight exercises. It’s been effective thus far, but I don’t think any of us have been super sore from it so I need to step up my game this week!

Up#5: I’m writing a bunch of blog posts today to be posted in the next couple of weeks. I have this HUGE list of blog post ideas, but I just haven’t gotten them written down yet. Half of them are all written in my head, but of course, I just can’t just transfer the data from my head to my computer. Wouldn’t that be cool though if I could just hook a USB cable to my brain and transfer it to my computer? Ok, maybe I’m a little weird…

Twitter: bigskytri

Disclaimer: I am a certified personal trainer and endurance sport coach; however, please use common sense when trying out any new exercises. Check with your health care provider before starting any new exercise program. All opinions expressed on this site are solely my own.